Tag: Wesley McGriff

Where does Auburn stand with LB JaMichael Garrett ahead of his commitment date?

The 2026 product is almost ready to announce his commitment. Is Auburn in position to close the deal?

Commitment date is looming for 2026 linebacker [autotag]JaMichael Garrett[/autotag], and Auburn is in a comfortable spot to land him.

In a recent interview with Chad Simmons of On3, Garrett says that he will announce his commitment “in the next two weeks or so.” Where does Auburn stand with Garrett ahead of his decision date? On3 is heavily leaning towards Auburn by giving them a 97.3% chance to earn his commitment while 247Sports has logged two crystal ball predictions in favor of the Tigers.

Garrett tells On3 that his relationships with defensive coordinator [autotag]DJ Durkin[/autotag], EDGE coach [autotag]Josh Aldridge[/autotag], and cornerbacks coach [autotag]Wesley McGriff[/autotag] are strong and he feels that they can push him to be great. For the program as a whole, Garrett says that Auburn reminds him of his high school program.

“The brotherhood at Auburn is different from anyone in the nation. It is like my high school team and everyone is close,” Garrett said. “It just feels good when I am there. Then the networking is great too. It is a great school to go to get set up for after football.”

LSU is the team to beat for Garrett’s commitment, but Auburn is the early favorite to land him. Garrett will have a busy week by visiting the Bayou on July 25 before making his way to the Plains for Big Cat Weekend beginning Friday. Much like 2025 safety Anquon Fegans, Garrett could commit to Auburn following a successful weekend visit.

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Auburn lands commitment from four-star CB Donovan Starr

Four-star CB Donovan Starr commits to Auburn just hours after leaving his official visit.

The Auburn football program is continually trying to make its mark on the recruiting trail and make itself known across the nation. It has been successful thus far, and continues to be on a good track with many big official visits in the past few days.

In fact, the official visits have gone so well that the Tigers landed a commitment from cornerback [autotag]Donovan Starr[/autotag] out of Brentwood, Tennessee just mere hours after he left from his official visit to the Plains on Thursday.

Starr made his visit to Auburn from Tuesday to Thursday and came up with his decision to commit on the car ride home. He picked the Tigers over Missouri, Clemson, Tennessee and Illinois.

The 5-11, 175-pound is ranked as the No. 385 player in the nation and the No. 36 cornerback in the 2025 class according to the On3 industry ranking. He is also the No. 12 player in the state of Tennessee.

Starr is the third cornerback commit for the Tigers’ 2025 cycle. He joins four-star [autotag]Devin Williams[/autotag] and three-star [autotag]Dante Core[/autotag] in that portion of the secondary.

He was recruited heavily by cornerbacks coach [autotag]Wesley McGriff[/autotag] and defensive coordinator [autotag]DJ Durkin[/autotag] throughout his recruiting process, which was a big reason why he chose Auburn.

The Tigers’ 2025 group currently stands at No. 10 nationally and No. 5 in the SEC, now at 12 commits for the class and looking to land more within the coming weeks.

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Recent Auburn visit ‘exceeded every expectation’ for four-star CB Blake Woodby

Auburn football continues to trend upward for 2025 CB Blake Woodby following a successful official visit.

Auburn is trending upward regarding recent Ohio State decommit [autotag]Blake Woodby[/autotag], and a visit this weekend may have sealed the deal.

Woodby, a four-star cornerback who backed off his pledge to Ohio State on May 16, stopped by Auburn this weekend to kick off his schedule of four summer official visits. Ahead of his visit, experts from both On3 and 247Sports submitted predictions for Woodby in favor of Auburn, and Auburn coaches made sure to treat Woodby as a top priority during his stay.

“It went great. The visit exceeded every expectation I could possibly think of,” Woobdy said in an interview with Auburn Undercover. “Coach Crime had the red carpet laid out for me. Coach Rohan (Gaines) did a great job of keeping in contact with me, stayed with my parents throughout the whole time they were here. Today was my mom’s first ever visit she ever went on, she loved it. She felt like she could feel comfortable with me coming here. It was great, great visit.”

Auburn pulled out their top defensive recruiters for their pitch to Woodby, defensive backs coaches [autotag]Wesley McGriff[/autotag] and [autotag]Charles Kelly[/autotag]. Woodby told Auburn Undercover that he barely ate his food at dinner because the trio talked football for over an hour. Woodby’s relationships with McGriff and Kelly, as well as Auburn’s “family atmosphere”stood out the most to Woodby on his visit.

Auburn boosted its stock over the weekend, but Woodby is not ready to announce his commitment. According to 247Sports, Woodby will visit Cincinnati, Ohio State, Maryland, Oregon, and Georgia before making his decision, which could come during football season. Woodby does plan to return to campus for Big Cat Weekend beginning July 27.

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Five-star Ohio State pledge recaps Auburn visit

Alabama’s top recruit for the 2025 cycle paid a surprise visit to the Plains over the weekend. Did Auburn impress?

Earlier last week, five-star Ohio State pledge [autotag]Na’eem Offord[/autotag] told On3’s Cole Pinkston that he planned to save his official visit to Auburn for the season. So it was a surprise to many that he stopped by the Plains for a visit over the weekend.

Offord showed up for a star-studded recruiting weekend featuring five-star wide receiver [autotag]Caleb Cunningham[/autotag] and four-star OL [autotag]Broderick Shull[/autotag] as visitors. He spoke with Jeffrey Lee of On3 following his visit on Sunday afternoon by explaining his sudden appearance on the Plains.

“It was better because the coaches don’t have to focus on the game if you do it right now,” Offord said of his weekend visit. “They’re not doing anything now. It made sense for me to do it this weekend.”

He made the most of his visit by arriving on Friday and departing Sunday. Offord spent time with every coach including cornerbacks coach [autotag]Wesley McGriff[/autotag] and defensive coordinator [autotag]DJ Durkin[/autotag]. Their pitch to Offord was the importantance of staying in-state and that he is their “No. 1 target.”

“They are the only school telling me that,” Offord said.

Offord is a five-star cornerback from Parker High School in Birmingham, and ranks as high as No. 6 nationally by 247Sports and ESPN. He announced his pledge to Ohio State since February, and has worked on flipping Auburn commit Malik Autry to the Buckeyes. Maybe this weekend’s trip will allow Autry to flip the script and sway Offord to commit to Auburn.

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Alabama’s top 2025 recruit plans to visit Auburn this fall

Auburn football has earned several commitments from Alabama’s top 2025 recruits. Can it land the state’s top player this cycle?

Auburn football remains in the hunt to land the state’s top recruit for the 2025 cycle.

[autotag]Na’eem Offord[/autotag], a five-star cornerback from Parker High School in Birmingham, has been an Ohio State pledge since February. However, as has become customary, Auburn is refusing to yield until signing day.

In a recent interview with Cole Pinkston of On3, Offord says that he remains in contact with Auburn defensive backs coach [autotag]Wesley McGriff[/autotag], and that high school teammate and current 2025 Auburn pledge [autotag]Jourdin Crawford[/autotag] continues to recruit him on Auburn’s behalf.

With Auburn still making a push, does Offord plan to visit the Plains soon? He tells Pinkston that he will be on campus for a scheduled 7-on-7 with his high school team, and says that he plans to take official visits to Auburn and rival Alabama during the season.

“I don’t have an (official visit) date set yet, but I am saving those two schools (Auburn and Alabama) for last,” Offord tells Pinkston.

Auburn has recruited its home-base well this cycle, as three of the state’s top-10 recruits have committed to head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] and the program. [autotag]Eric Winters[/autotag], the state’s No. 5 overall recruit, has a crystal ball prediction from 247Sports that favors Auburn.

Offord is the top overall recruit from Alabama for the 2025 cycle, and is the No. 2 cornerback according to 247Sports’ national rankings.

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Auburn in tight battle with USC for four-star safety Anquon Fegans

USC remains the favorite to sign the talented DB from Thompson High School, but Auburn is gaining ground quickly.

The Thompson Warriors have become the state of Alabama’s powerhouse by winning four of the last five Class 7A state championships. Safety [autotag]Anquon Fegans[/autotag] has been a major reason why.

Fegans, a four-star safety, has recorded 176 tackles in three seasons as a varsity player for the Warriors, with five tackles for loss and 18 interceptions. He is one of the most sought-after recruits for the 2025 cycle, and it is easy to see why Auburn is working to keep him within the state’s borders.

Auburn is trending upward in Fegans’ recruitment, and one recruiting expert is ready to throw in his prediction. Cole Pinkston of Auburn Live has logged an “expert pick” for Auburn to land Fegans, joining Jeffrey Lee in doing so.

Fegans visited Auburn last month, where he spent time with defensive backs coaches [autotag]Charles Kelly[/autotag] and [autotag]Wesley McGriff[/autotag]. Fegans also mentioned to On3 that defensive backs [autotag]Antonio Kite[/autotag] and former Thompson teammate [autotag]Kaleb Harris[/autotag] are joining Auburn’s coaches in his recruiting efforts.

USC remains the favorite to land Fegans with a 50.1% forecast from On3, but Auburn is next at 41.8%. Fegans is a four-star safety according to all four major recruiting outlets. By On3’s standards, Fegans is the nation’s No. 4 safety for the 2025 cycle and is the No. 3 overall recruit from the state of Alabama.

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Keionte Scott elected to stay at Auburn, and Wesley McGriff deserves the credit

Scott flirted with the transfer portal in January, but returns to bring experience to a depleted Auburn secondary.

Auburn’s secondary is one of the least experienced units on the defensive side of the ball, so it needs as much leadership as possible.

After the departures of [autotag]Nehemiah Pritchett[/autotag], [autotag]DJ James[/autotag], and [autotag]Jaylin Simpson[/autotag], who declared for the NFL draft, Auburn needed a player like [autotag]Keionte Scott [/autotag]in-house to provide leadership and experience to the unit. Earlier this week, Scott revealed that he almost left the program, which would have for sure delivered a blow to Auburn’s defense.

Scott entered the transfer portal for a short time in January before pulling his name out of consideration just two days later. What sparked his return? The return of defensive backs coach [autotag]Wesley McGriff[/autotag]. McGriff took a step back from his on-field duties last October before leaving the program to join Mike Elko’s staff at Texas A&M. The deal with Texas A&M fell through, which led him back to Auburn.

Scott says a brief chat with McGriff made the difference.

“We talked a lot throughout the process and stuff like that,” Scott said. He was able to still mentor me through the process of everything. So ultimately having him come back, that was a plus.”

Scott, who will move to cornerback this season, says that the prospective of playing in new defensive coordinator [autotag]DJ Durkin[/autotag]’s defense, and staying at a place he loves in Auburn, also played a role in his decision to stay.

Scott enters the 2024 season with 72 total tackles, an interception, and four pass deflections. He has also returned 29 punts in two seasons on the Plains for 356 yards and a touchdown.

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Wesley McGriff’s return is ‘big’ for 5-star Auburn target Zelus Hicks

Auburn is firmly in the running for five-star safety Zelus Hicks and Wesley McGriff is a major reason why.

[autotag]Wesley McGriff[/autotag] was a member of [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag]’s first coaching staff at Auburn and despite a brief stint at Texas A&M, he will be a part of the second one.

That development was significant for five-star safety [autotag]Zelus Hicks[/autotag]. McGriff coaches the cornerbacks but he has taken the lead for Hicks.

“It was very important actually. I was shocked that he came back so quick,” Hicks told Auburn Undercover’s Christian Clemente. “He was only up there for like a week. When he came back it definitely surprised me and it was big that he came back. The main thing that he said to me today is that he’s here and he wants me here with him. He’s not going nowhere. After leaving, he’s not going nowhere. That’s big.”

From Georgia, Hicks has spent plenty of time on Auburn’s campus and that won’t be stopping soon. He visited for three games last season and after stopping by on Saturday, he plans on spending plenty of more time on the Plains.

“Oh yeah, I’m definitely going to be back as much as I can,” Hicks said.

He is the No. 31 overall player and No. 3 safety in the 247Sports composite ranking. The 6-foot-2, 185-pounder is also the No. 4 player from Georgia.

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Report: Texas A&M football program hires Aggies alumnus Jordan Peterson from Kansas as DBs coach

According to a report from Billy Liucci of TexAgs, the Aggies have hired Kansas co-defensive coordinator Jordan Peterson as co-cornerbacks coach.

The old cliche goes “Everything happens for a reason,” and that is certainly evident in Aggieland over the past nine days.

The day after Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko retained Bryant Gross-Armiento as a senior defensive analyst, Wesley McGriff decided to return to Auburn rather than becoming passing game coordinator & co-defensive backs coach alongside Ishmael Aristide.

Now only eight days later, Elko has found McGriff’s replacement and it’s a face that diehard members of the 12th Man will know. According to a report from Billy Liucci of TexAgs, the Aggies have hired Kansas co-defensive coordinator Jordan Peterson as co-cornerbacks coach.

Peterson is a Texas A&M alumnus who played four seasons at Kyle Field before graduating with a bachelor’s degree in sport management in 2009 along with his master’s in education curriculum and instruction in 2010. As a 5-foot-10, 185-pound safety, he racked up 81 tackles 15 pass deflections, 4 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles and 1 fumble recovery.

After becoming a two-time All-Big 12 Academic First Team selection, Peterson got his start in coaching as a graduate assistant in College Station from 2010-11. He coached at Fresno State from 2012-16, New Mexico from 2017-19 and had been with the Jayhawks for the last four seasons from 2020-23.

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Report: Wesley McGriff reverses course and returns to Auburn after accepting Texas A&M job

After agreeing to leave Auburn for Texas A&M on New Year’s Eve, Wesley McGriff has apparently changed his mind according to Justin Hokanson.

After agreeing to leave Auburn for Texas A&M on New Year’s Eve, Wesley McGriff has apparently changed his mind.

According to Justin Hokanson, the Auburn reporter for On3 Sports, McGriff has reversed course and will be returning to the Tigers to coach defensive backs. He had agreed to work for head coach Mike Elko and serve as co-defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator on the final day of 2023.

McGriff was supposed to work alongside Ishmael Aristide, who was hired in early December to coach cornerbacks and followed Elko from Durham after coaching on his Duke staff for one season. The move comes one day after Elko retained Bryant Gross-Armiento to serve as a senior defensive analyst after coaching defensive backs on Jimbo Fisher‘s staff.

As pointed out on New Year’s Eve by Billy Liucci of TexAgs, McGriff has more than just SEC coaching experience, he is also a talented recruiter who has developed elite prospects into dependable NFL players.

McGriff returns to Auburn to continue his third separate stint with the Tigers, including 2016, 2019 to 2020 and 2023 to the present day. He served as the secondary coach at Lousiville in 2022. McGriff also has previous experience at Florida and Ole Miss.

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